Hawaii Community Foundation ramps up charitable gift annuities plans

Hawaii Community Foundation ramps up charitable gift annuities plans

By Kathleen Gallagher and Lorin Eleni Gill – Pacific Business News Jun 6, 2016, 5:13pm EDT The Hawaii Community Foundation is planning to intensify its use of charitable gift annuities, according to Paul Keenan, vice president for development and donor relations.

“They’ve been around quite a while in the nonprofit world in general,” Keenan told Pacific Business News. “We have done CGAs in the past but now realize that scale is a good thing, so, if we’re going to do them, let’s do them with vigor.”

A charitable gift annuity is a contract in which a donor makes a gift in return for a fixed lifetime annuity from HCF. The donor receives a partial tax deduction based on the net value of the gift.

The annuity is payable to the donor or someone they designate, called the “annuitant.” Up to two annuitants can be named.

HCF is undertaking a Hawaii Legacy Giving Campaign, where it works with 100 nonprofits across the state to help them increase their legacy giving with a sponsored CGA program.

“If they [the other nonprofits] don’t have that capacity to put it together on their own, we can provide that service,” Keenan said. “So the donor can make the gift, and we will service the charitable gift annuity… There is some financial risk if you’re a small nonprofit promising an income string to a donor for the rest of his/her life, so that’s the skill and resources HCF provide.”

The foundation embarked on this endeavor last year. So far, interest has been positive, the group said.

“First and foremost, this is a charitable gesture,” Keenan said. “But it is one where someone could make a bigger difference than they think they can.”